Holmwood hold off Edwin Allen

BY PAUL A REID Observer Writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, March 28, 2010

HOLMWOOD Technical won the ISSA GraceKennedy Girls' Championship for the eighth straight year last night after overhauling Edwin Allen High in the closest race in years to prevail by a mere 15 points -- 273.33 to 258.

St Jago held onto third place with 180 points. Vere Technical, who set the early pace, were fourth with 158, while Manchester rounded off the top five with 144.83.

Wolmer's Girls' were the top Corporate Area school, finishing sixth with 117 points, while Herbert Morrison were the top western school in seventh place on 80 points -- their best finish ever.

Unlike previous years when the fourth day was a romp for the Maurice Wilson-coached Holmwood team, this year they were made to fight for every single point in what Wilson described as "the wickedest one... the sweetest victory".

The Championships came down to the 4x400m relay where Holmwood needed to avoid finishing too far behind Edwin Allen as they led by less than nine points entering the event.

Holmwood won in 3 minutes 37.52 seconds, while Edwin Allen placed fourth as Vere and Manchester took the silver and bronze.

While sitting among a group of his jubilant charges on the warm-up track, Wilson said, "You cannot keep doing the same thing all the time and expect different results".

Despite frustrations about the poor facilities his charges were forced to endure as they prepared, Wilson -- who spoke to the Sunday Observer with two events to go in the four-day meet -- said they had to "draw on the ghosts of the great Holmwood athletes of the past to get the girls to rise to the challenge that faced us this week."

He praised principal Paul Bailey and his coaching staff for the work done, especially when he was away last month on a trip to Africa while the Central Championship was being contested.

Holmwood's relatively poor showing at the regional meet, finishing third, he said, caused some "disrespect" in some areas of the media.

"We did not win seven years in a row by accident, and if only for that, we deserved better."

Wilson said he would take "a lot of the credit for the win as a lot of magic happened in the last two weeks" to get the team ready to and warned that next year, if he is still at Holmwood, they could create history by amassing over 450 points.

It was a stirring battle from the start with the lead changing on a regular basis until Holmwood went to the front midway the proceedings as they scored 41 points from five of six relays to turn the tide at the end.

Edwin Allen scored 32 points, also from five of six relays. They were bidding to become the 12th school to win the title since it was first contested in 1957 when St Hilda's won.

There were two records yesterday, taking the total to seven over the four days.

Holmwood ran 4:01.92 with the team of Kerry-Ann Walker, Kimberly Stevens, Claudette Campbell and Kimberlee Hines, to lower the record in the sprint medley relay from 4:02.41 set by Vere in 2000 while the Edwin Allen Class 4 4x100m team blazed 47.58 seconds to win ahead of Wolmer's Girls' and Hydel.

Holmwood won the Class 3 race ahead of Herbert Morrison and Alpha; Herbert Morrison, with a brilliant anchor leg from Seidatha Palmer, won the Class 2 event from Holmwood and The Queen's, while Edwin Allen won Class 1 ahead of Herbert Morrison and Vere.

Manchester's middle-distance queen, Natoya Goule, ended her glittering Champs career on a high with three gold medals, adding the 800m and 3,000m to the 1500m won on Friday.

Holmwood started the final day's chase with victory in the Class 3 400m where favourite and defending champion, double gold medallist Chris-Ann Gordon, obliged, while teammate Shantae Green was fourth for a total of 14 points.

Gordon's 53.62 seconds was slower than the 52.68 recorded last year, while Vere's Yanique McNeil was second in 55.00 and St Jago's Yvonna Grant third in 56.20.

She had the fastest time of the day, however, as neither Class 1 nor Class 2 winners ran faster.

Edwin Allen's Ristananna Tracey was a surprise winner in Class 1, holding off Friday's 100m champion, Antonique Campbell of Herbert Morrison, on the line to win in 53.85 seconds to 53.91, with Holmwood's Petra Fanty third in 54.61.

Vere took gold and silver in the Class 2 event with Shericka Jackson winning in 53.74 ahead of teammate Olivia James, 53.99 and Manchester's Sandrae Farquharson, 54.56.

Gordon's second individual gold came in the 800m when she clocked 2:12.03, but Edwin Allen picked up 13 points as Central Champs winner Marleena Eubanks took second in 2:13.55 and Sanikee Gardner third in 2:14.2.

Chantal Duncan of Vere won the Class 2 event in 2:11.25 ahead of Holmwood's Petrene Plummer, 2:11.83, and Vere's Taska Johnson, 2:12.07.

Manchester's Natoya Goule completed an unbeaten career at Champs by winning the Class 1 800m in 2:06.44 running by herself from the start, clocking 1:00.11 for the first 400m after taking the 1500m in a new record the previous night.

Edwin Allen's Ristananna Tracey was second in 2:09.67, with Manchester's Sharlene Brown third in 2:12.75.

Goule added the 3000m title for good measure, running 10:28.60 for the seven-and-a-half-lap event for her third gold of the meet.

Holmwood's Amoya Bailey was second in 10:33.11, while STETHS' Class 3 standout Alethia McLaughlin was third in 10:33.37.

Herbert Morrison's Campbell and Holmwood's Class 3 runner Diana Johnson were sprint double champions, winning the 200m to add to their 100m titles.

Campbell produced a stirring stretch drive to edge Diandra Gilbert of The Queen's, who had to settle for the silver again, while Yanique Ellington of Holmwood was third.

Campbell, who came off the bend in second behind Gilbert, dropped to fourth before starting her charge with 20 metres to go to clock 23.86 to Gilbert's 23.87, while Ellington ran 24.05 seconds.

Johnson repeated her Class 4 double as she clocked 24.21 seconds as Saqukine Cameron of Edwin Allen and Kedisha Dallas repeated their 100m finish for second and third place, respectively, in 24.25 and 24.55.

Shericka Jackson of Vere won the Class 2 race in 23.89 as 100m silver medallist Seidatha Palmer of Herbert Morrison was second again in a personal best 24.17, ahead of Edwin Allen's Shawnette Lewin, 24.41 seconds.

After two false starts, St Jago's Nattaliah Whyte, who won the silver in the 100m, turned the tables on Wolmer's Girls' Shauna Helps, winning in 24.95 seconds to 25.40 second with long jump champion Amanda Carty of Hydel in third in 25.80 seconds.

Immaculate Conception's Samantha Elliott, who won the Class 2 100m hurdles last year, won the Class 1 race in a season best 13.96, relegating Edwin Allen's Nikita Tracey to her second straight silver in 14.28 seconds, while Tonique Sobah, who was second in Class 2 last year, was third in 14.30.

The Queen's Danielle Williams won her second gold in less than 24 hours when she took the Class 2 100m hurdles in 13.75 seconds running into a 2.9m/s wind.

Williams won the gold in the 100m on Friday and Holmwood's Janieve Russell, who was second in Class 3 last year, settled for the silver in 13.94, with Kimberly Golding of Alpha taking third in 14.07.

St Jago's Shenel Francis won the Class 3 80m race in 11.51 ahead of Alpha's Tatiana Wolfe, 11.70, while Vere's Tishanna Monteith was third in 11.78.

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Holmwood hold off Edwin Allen